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February 26th, 2013
Gasoline futures in New York tumbled the most since November as Brent crude and refined products in Europe declined. Crack spreads narrowed.
March futures fell as much as 3.1 percent. The April crack spread, or premium of gasoline over West Texas Intermediate crude on Nymex, declined $1.48 to $42.48 a barrel. The spread versus Brent crude on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London shrank $1.05 to $21.58 a barrel. Brent slipped as Italy’s borrowing costs rose to a three-month high on concern political stalemate will worsen the country’s debt crisis.
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February 12th, 2013
Gasoline futures advanced in early trading as crude climbed after OPEC forecast stronger fuel demand in emerging economies. Calendar spreads weakened.
Gasoline futures for March delivery rose as much as 0.8 percent. West Texas Intermediate oil gained 0.5 percent. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised its global oil demand estimate by 80,000 barrels a day from last month’s report. The March contract’s discount to April increased to the widest contango since Feb. 29.
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February 29th, 2012
Gasoline futures rose as the U.S. economy expanded more than forecast in the fourth quarter and after a report that stockpiles of the motor fuel fell last week.
Gasoline futures headed for their third straight monthly gain as gross domestic product climbed at a revised 3 percent annual rate, the most since the second quarter of 2010, Commerce Department figures showed today. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday that gasoline stockpiles fell 916,000 barrels in the seven days ended Feb. 24.
“GDP was good, which plays into the U.S. economic recovery story,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “And yesterday’s consumer confidence was a good number.”
Gasoline futures for March delivery rose 2.94 cents, or 1 percent, to $3.0695 a gallon at 9:38 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have gained 6.3 percent this month and are up 14 percent in 2012.
March gasoline and heating oil futures expire at the close of floor trading today. The more actively traded April contract advanced 2.84 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $3.2531 a gallon.
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February 21st, 2012
Gasoline futures rose as oil traded near the highest price in nine months after euro-area finance ministers agreed on a second bailout for Greece.
Gasoline futures touched a nine-month high as crude gained as much as 2.1 percent. European finance ministers approved 130 billion euros ($173 billion) in aid for Greece by tapping into European Central Bank profits and coaxing investors into providing more debt relief to shield the region from a default.
“It’s very much the Greek situation and the stability it brings to the markets,” John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy, said by phone. “Now we can focus on the continuing improving data set that we’ve been getting in the U.S.”
Gasoline futures for March-delivery rose 3.84 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $3.054 a gallon at 11:57 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange after touching $3.0593, the highest intraday price since Aug. 2. Prices gained 1.4 percent last week and are up 14 percent so far this year.
Greece’s debt may still balloon to 160 percent of gross domestic product in a worst-case scenario, analysis by the International Monetary Fund and European officials indicated.
Prices also gained as an Iranian military commander said Iran would consider taking pre-emptive action in response to threats, according to the state-run Fars news agency.
“We will no more wait to see enemy action against us,” Fars quoted Mohammad Hejazi, deputy head of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Logistic and Industrial Research, as saying in an interview.
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February 16th, 2012
Gasoline futures rose to a six-month high after unplanned outages at Gulf Coast refineries threatened to curb supplies at a time when production of the fuel typically increases in anticipation of the summer driving season.
Gasoline futures gained after Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Beaumont, Texas, refinery took a fluid catalytic cracker offline for repairs yesterday and Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) experienced a partial power failure at the Garyville, Louisiana, plant, resulting in malfunctions in several units. Sunoco Inc. plans to shut its Philadelphia plant by July.
“We have a number of refining outages on the Gulf Coast and there’s still some concern that Sunoco is going to shut the Philadelphia refinery and tighten supplies for the summer,” Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC in Houston, said by phone.
Gasoline futures for March-delivery rose 4.04 cents, or 1.3 percent, to settle at $3.0471 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest price since Aug. 1. Futures are up 13 percent this year. Gasoline is the third-best performer this year in the Standard & Poor’s GSCI commodity index.
Exxon expects some impact to production from the Beaumont outage, Kathleen Jackson, a company spokeswoman, said yesterday in an e-mail. Sunoco Inc. (SUN) announced Sept. 6 that it may shut main process units at Philadelphia if no buyer is found.
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February 9th, 2012
Gasoline futures surged to a five-month high as Greece approved measures to ward off default, easing concern that European demand may decline, while refinery shutdowns increased speculation that supplies may be curtailed.
The best performing energy commodity this year rose for the fourth time in five sessions as Greek political leaders reached a deal that may lead to the country’s second rescue in two years. Hovensa LLC and Petroplus Holdings AG are closing plants this month in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Germany.
“We’re up on the Greek austerity deal, and concern about refinery issues is keeping the market on edge,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago.
Gasoline futures for March delivery rose 3.76 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $3.0128 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the highest settlement for the front-month contract since Aug. 31. Prices have risen 12 percent this year.
“I think it can go all the way up to $3.20,” said Michael Smith, president of T&K Futures & Options in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. “Gasoline has been a bullish buy since making a double bottom on Dec. 16 and Dec. 19. That’s what a real bull market looks like, higher lows and higher highs.”
A double bottom refers to the level a commodity drops to twice in succession, a technical indicator that the futures have buying support at that price and may rebound.
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos called European Central Bank President Mario Draghi to tell him “an agreement has been reached,” Draghi said at a press conference today in Frankfurt.
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February 07, 2012
Gasoline Futures – California-blend gasoline weakened against futures amid analyst estimates that U.S. stockpiles of motor fuels increased last week.
Stockpiles of gasoline probably rose 875,000 barrels from 230.1 million barrels last week, the median of 10 responses in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. The Energy Department reports inventory statistics tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in New York.
Carbob in Los Angeles slipped 1.75 cents to a premium of 10 cents a gallon against gasoline futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 4:12 p.m. East Coast time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Prompt delivery of the fuel fell 1.79 cents to $3.0275 a gallon.
The discount for Carbob in San Francisco widened 1.25 cents to 3.5 cents against futures.
U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose 4.43 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute’s weekly report showed. Distillate fuel inventories gained 386,000 barrels, the API report said.
API collects stockpile information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The government requires that reports be filed with the Energy Department for its weekly survey.
California-blend, or CARB, diesel in Los Angeles weakened 1.13 cents to a discount of 0.25 cent to Nymex heating oil futures. San Francisco CARB diesel weakened 0.5 cent to a discount of 0.5 cent to futures.
The discount to futures for conventional, 87-octane gasoline in Portland, Oregon, narrowed 3 cents to 16 cents.
–With assistance from Lynn Doan in San Francisco and Moming Zhou in New York. Editors: Richard Stubbe, Charles Siler
- Gene Laverty in Calgary at Bloomberg.
January 27, 2012
Gasoline futures jumped to the highest level since August and amid signs Greece is near an agreement with its creditors.
Futures rose 1.1 percent this week after gasoline surged on speculation that refinery outages and plant closures will cut supplies. Olli Rehn, the European Union’s commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said an agreement is “very close” on private-sector involvement in a Greek debt swap.
“The closing of a number of refineries in the Northeast is making people very supply-conscious during a period with weak gasoline demand,” said Peter Beutel, president of trading advisory company Cameronhanover.com in New Canaan, Connecticut. “Expectations that they will put together a Greek deal soon are lifting the entire complex.”
Crude oil futures for March delivery increased $1.10 this week to settle at $99.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have climbed 16 percent in the past year. Futures slipped 14 cents today.
Brent oil for March settlement gained $1.60, or 1.5 percent, this week to $111.46 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The futures ended today’s session up 67 cents, or 0.6 percent.
Gasoline futures for February delivery advanced 8.02 cents, or 2.8 percent, today to $2.9268 a gallon, the highest settlement since Aug. 31. Prices gained 5.1 percent this week.
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January 20th, 2012
Gasoline futures fell after U.S. demand slid to a 10-year low and as concern that an agreement between Greece and its creditors will take longer to be reached sent the euro lower.
Gasoline futures declined a second straight day as the Energy Department estimated consumption tumbled last week to the lowest level since September 2001. Greek creditors and government officials were scheduled to meet a third day to hammer out details of a debt-swap deal.
“The Greek situation is basically back and forth and that’s kind of a negative for the market,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “And gasoline demand is bad.”
Gasoline futures for February delivery fell 2.57 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $2.7901 a gallon at 9:49 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have risen 2 percent this week.
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January 18th, 2012
Gasoline futures advanced to a four- month high after Hovensa LLC said it will shut its St. Croix refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands because of mounting losses and low demand.
Gasoline futures gained 2 percent. The closing of the 350,000- barrel-a-day Hovensa plant, which supplied 2.7 percent of U.S. East Coast gasoline demand in October, follows the shutdown of two Pennsylvania refineries by Sunoco Inc. (SUN) and ConocoPhillips. New York Harbor is the delivery point for reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, and heating oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“In conjunction with the recent Sunoco and Conoco shutdowns, RBOB supplies during the upcoming driving season could become quite tight resulting in significant price volatility, especially if one of the remaining Northeast refineries should have an outage,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC in Houston.
Gasoline futures for February delivery rose 5.41 cents to $2.8254 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Sept. 8.
Preliminary volume in electronic trading for gasoline was 185,607 contracts as of 2:37 p.m. in New York, 51 percent above the three-month average. Heating oil volume was 194,200 contracts, 39 percent higher than the average.
Hovensa, a partnership of Hess Corp. (HES) and Petroleos de Venezuela SA, said it will shut the St. Croix plant by mid- February and convert it into an oil storage terminal.
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